CT EBOLA UPDATE: All hospitals in state must conduct drills on Ebola preparedness

With Thursday’s Ebola scare in Connecticut, every hospital in the state has been ordered to perform a drill within the next week to assure that procedures related to emergencies such as Ebola and Emergency Medical Services involved in such operations are up to standard.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy issued the order on Thursday, after a Yale graduate student was admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital with Ebola-like symptoms.

Preliminary test results since then indicate the student does not have Ebola. The student had been in West Africa conducting research on the Ebola outbreak.

Checklist for Ebola preparedness

Earlier in October, state Public Health Commissioner Jewel Mullen asked every hospital to complete a detailed hospital checklist for Ebola preparedness. All acute-care hospitals had completed and returned the checklist, Mullen said.

Dr. Jewel MullenCT Health Commissioner

Mullen said the state Public Health Department also held a conference call with hospital representatives earlier this week to review their preparedness efforts.

“Connecticut hospitals clearly have a heightened level of awareness for detecting a patient with Ebola, given the level of cooperation we have received in preparing for a possible case,” said Dr. Mullen. “The survey shows that every hospital is engaged in planning and preparedness around Ebola.

“Critical to preventing an Ebola outbreak in the United States is that all hospitals are able to recognize when a patient may be at risk for Ebola and take the appropriate steps,” she said.

“We continue to work with hospitals to ensure they can detect a patient with Ebola, protect healthcare workers so they can safely care for the patient, and respond in a coordinated fashion with their healthcare system,” Mullen said.